After trailing 14-6 and 20-13, #11-seed George Mason briefly took a 29-28 lead over #1-seed UConn — but then the Huskies went on a 15-2 run and threatened to put the game away. An old-fashioned three-point play with 0.8 seconds left, though, kept Mason within single digits, and it’s 43-34 at halftime. The biggest problem for the Patriots is their shooting percentage: 39.3%, versus 55.2% for the Huskies. The Huskies actually did have a brief cold spell in the middle of the half (I think they missed seven straight shots, which just tells you how well they’re shooting otherwise), but Mason committed the cardinal sin, failing to take advantage of that opportunity. They should have taken a substantial lead in there, but kept missing their shots. Still, they’re within nine points of the #1 team in the land at the half. If the shooting percentages even out a bit, and the two teams otherwise keep playing the way they have been, Mason has a legitimate shot of delighting the “home” crowd by becoming the first true mid-major to reach the Final Four since 1979.

UPDATE: George Mason leads, 69-65 with 3:10 to go!

P.S. If the Patriots actually win, Billy Packer and Jim Nantz will have to cover their next game! Oh, that’d be sweet! :)

P.P.S. You think Florida and Villanova fans are rooting for the Patriots right now? Heh. Of course, so were North Carolina fans… and Wichita State fans… and UConn fans…

UPDATE 2: UConn misses two free throws, then bails Mason out by fouling them with one on the shot clock, then tips in Mason’s shot, then turns the ball over! The Huskies are falling apart! Mason by 4, 1:02 left!

UPDATE 3: George Mason by 2, with the ball, 17.6 seconds left!

The entire state of Connecticut is having a heart attack right now.

UPDATE 4: The Patriots are 7.9 seconds from the Final Four! They have the ball, and a 2-point lead… UConn needs a steal or an immediate foul. If Mason hits two FTs, the game is almost over…

UPDATE 5: OVERTIME!!! Tony Skinn misses the front end, and UConn gets a layup at the buzzer to tie the game!! The layup ALMOST missed… it hung on the rim for several seconds with no time on the clcok. Did I mention the entire state of Connecticut is having a heart attack??

FINAL UPDATE: Coverage continued in new post above.

Indy Racing League driver Paul Dana, a member of the racing team co-owned by David Letterman, died after a horrific crash during the warmup for the Toyota Indy 300, the season’s first race, in Florida today. The race will start as scheduled, but Dana’s teammates, Danica Patrick and Buddy Rice, will not race.

If #3 Florida upsets #1 Villanova and #11 George Mason stuns #1 UConn on Sunday, Mike Tran will clinch the 11th annual Living Room Times NCAA men’s pool. It would be the first time the Times men’s pool championship was decided before the Final Four since 2003, and only the second time since 1997.

But if one or both of the favorites win, between three and five contestants will remain mathematically alive heading into the Final Four. After the jump are the various scenarios, which we can now chart all the way down to the very end of the tournament.

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Victoria Lopez, a.k.a. “Vicki from NJ,” moved ahead of former co-leaders Sean Sullivan and 2003 champion Rick Boeckler and took the lead in the 9th annual Living Room Times women’s NCAA pool Saturday with a 3-for-4 day.

Lopez has 268 points out of a maximum possible 312 thus far, midway through the Sweet Sixteen. Sullivan and Boeckler are tied for second with 260 points apiece. Complete standings here and after the jump.

Lopez, Sullivan and Boeckler are 3 of the 31 contestants who are still mathematically alive to win the pool. Scenario info here.

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The Stanford women’s basketball team — which, as I noted yesterday, misses the Tree — advanced to the Elite Eight with an upset of Oklahoma on Saturday. This is great news, because it extends the opportunity for SportsCenter anchors and pun-happy newspaper columnists everywhere to keep talking about the Tree. :) For instance, AP Sports Writer Jaime Aron reports:

Gone, but not forgotten, the tree was courtside in spirit Saturday for Stanford’s 88-74 victory over Oklahoma in the semifinals of the San Antonio Regional.

Nearly every member of the band was adorned with some sort of shrubbery. There were twigs of various shapes and sizes taped to hats, backs and arms. Several folks used thick tape to fashion trees on their backs. (Most had the zigzag look of the Christmas variety.)

After the game, long after both teams and most fans were gone, the band played on, chanting, “Just three more wins!”

True. But “Three for the Tree!” sure has better ring to it.

Heh.

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Fox Sports’s Kevin Hench must have missed the code-of-silence memo — you know, the one that says sportswriters aren’t supposed to call it like they see it when a game is decided by poor officiating — because he is blunt, brutal, and absolutely, 100% correct in pointing out that both Boston College and Washington “were left with the sour taste of losing because of bad officiating” on Thursday. Thank God someone outside of the state of Washington and fan message boards has the courage to say it!

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In several recent posts, I have misstated Brian Kiolbasa’s all-time Living Room Times men’s pool points record, set last year, as 368. It’s actually 362.

Both Mike Tran, a classmate of Kiolbasa’s at Notre Dame Law School, and Andrew Long, the USC grad whom Kiolbasa edged for the pool championship last year, have a shot this year at breaking Kiolbasa’s record, which itself broke Lou Ruggiero’s 1996 record of 354, set in the first-ever Times pool.

Tran needs a Florida win to stay alive to break Kiolbasa’s mark. Long needs a win by UConn to stay alive — for both the pool championship and the record.

If both the Huskies and Gators win, Tran and Long will both head into the tournament’s final weekend with a shot at the record. If George Mason and Villanova win, Kiolbasa’s record will be safe for this year.

There are six teams still standing in the men’s NCAA Tournament, and six contestants left with a chance to win the 11th annual Living Room Times men’s NCAA pool: an Irish Bruin, a Trojan, a Trojan Husky, a Yellowjacket Tiger, a Duke, and a Husky Cavalier.

Kirby Bullard, Matt “LaundraMatt” Scarborough and Jay “DrawingDead” Johnson were mathematically eliminated when UCLA beat Memphis, leaving Mike Tran, Andrew Long, David Kreutz, Matt Wiser, Ben Eng and Logan Pugh as the “Stupendous Six” (hat tip: Matt’s brother Mike :) who still have a chance to win the pool.

Tran, a UCLA grad and Notre Dame 2L, is the undisputed leader at the moment, with 301 points out of a possible 382 thus far, and a 56.2% chance of winning the pool (assuming all individual game outcomes are equally likely). Tran is 9-for-10 in the tournament’s second weekend so far, and he would win in 18 of the 32 remaining scenarios. In two of those scenarios, he would ultimately score 381 points and break Brian Kiolbasa’s all-time men’s pool record of 368 points, set last year.

In second place, both points-wise and scenario-wise, is 2002 USC grad Andrew Long, who has 289 points and would win in 5 of the 32 scenarios (15.6%).

Ben Eng, who graduated from James Madison University (home of the Dukes), is third with 282 points, but he would only win in one scenario (3.1%). His odds of winning are less than Logan Pugh, a Virginia student and Connecticut native who roots for UConn, in fourth place with 272 points; David Kreutz, a Washington grad who attended USC for a year, in fifth with 267; and Matt Wiser, a Rochester grad and current LSU student, in 15th with 250 points. Pugh, Kreutz and Wiser all have a 9.4% chance of winning, owning 3 of the 32 scenarios.

Long and Kreutz are the “Great Trojan Hopes” in this pool. No USC-affiliated contestant has ever won a Living Room Times pool, though numerous Trojans have competed in the pools since 2000, and several have come very close to winning. Long would have won last year’s men’s pool if Illinois had beaten North Carolina in the title game. Mike Wiser, Matt’s brother, would have won the 2001 women’s pool if Purdue had beaten Notre Dame in the title game.

Complete standings here and after the jump. Scenario info to follow soon.

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A minute and 20 seconds into the second half, Memphis has only scored 22 points, but UCLA’s lead is only 6 points because the Bruins are 6 of 19 from the free-throw line. If UCLA doesn’t go to the Final Four, they’ll know why.

UPDATE: Okay, both of these teams are sucking it up, big-time. Can we please put some other team into the Final Four instead? How about Washington? Or perhaps Boston College? Hell, even Texas deserves it more than these clowns, based on how they’re playing right now.

UPDATE 2: Worst. Game. Ever.

UCLA wins, 50-45. It’ll be Bruins vs. Tigers, instead of Tigers vs. Tigers, in the Final Four.

Pool update to follow after I walk the dog.

P.S. Greg Gumbel got it right: “So, UCLA played less poorly than Memphis did.” Heh.

Incidentally, yes, I will update the women’s pool too, at some point. But for now, a look at the nine contestants who are still alive to win the men’s pool. (I tried to think of a catchy alliterative term for them — e.g. “Elite Eight,” “Spectacular Seven,” “Final Four,” etc. — but I couldn’t really think of anything appropriate. The Nefarious Nine? The Nebulous Nine? The Nerdy Nine? Heh.)

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The Olympian of Olympia, Washington reports:

Speculation about Mark Few’s interest in leaving Gonzaga for Indiana increased Friday when Few’s lawyer repeatedly rejected opportunities to deny that Few will meet with the Hoosiers about the head coaching vacancy for Indiana men’s basketball.

“I just talked to Mark,” said Brad Williams, a Spokane attorney who handles contracts for a number of college basketball coaches. “We just kinda had the position that we’re not going to make any comments at all. I’ll just leave it at that.”

Asked later whether Few would be interested in talking with Indiana representatives, Williams said, “No comment. I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

Later, asked if ESPN.com was accurate in reporting that Few, through Williams, turned down a request to meet with Indiana’s hiring committee, Williams said, “No.”

Williams later clarified that comment, saying that neither he nor Few has talked with any Indiana officials. Williams said Atlanta’s Dan Parker, who has contracted with the Hoosiers to aid in the coaching search, called Williams last week and asked if Few would talk with him about the Indiana job.

“Mark said, ‘I don’t want to talk to him now,’ ” Williams said.

Interesting side note: among the “number of college basketball coaches” represented by Williams is Wichita State’s Mark Turgeon, also a hot commodity in the current coaching-carousel sweepstakes.

Anyway, stay tuned.

With Duke gone and UConn and Villanova looking vulnerable, there may not be a prohibitive favorite in the NCAA Tournament. But in the Living Room Times NCAA men’s pool, Mike Tran is beginning to look like an unstoppable juggernaut.

Tran increased his lead to 12 points and his odds of winning to 42.2% when #4-seed LSU reached the Final Four in Saturday’s first regional final — just as Tran predicted they would. He is now 8-for-9 in the tournament’s second weekend, with his only error stemming from a first-round upset that eliminated one of his Final Four teams, Michigan State. His other Final Four teams, #2-seed UCLA and #3-seed Florida, are still alive. Those teams are also his predicted finalists, with UCLA winning it all.

Tran, a UCLA grad and Notre Dame 2L, has 286 points out of a possible 367, and is still alive to break fellow NDLS 2L Brian Kiolbasa’s all-time men’s pool points record of 368 points, set last year. He would need a perfect record from this point forward, with the exception of the UConn-George Mason game, where he picked the long-eliminated Spartans.

Andrew Long, a USC alum who would have beaten Kiolbasa in last year’s pool if Illinois had won the championship game over North Carolina, is second with 274 points. Long also has a chance to break Kiolbasa’s record, if UConn and UCLA reach the Final Four, with the Huskies beating the Bruins in the title game.

James Madison grad and Los Angeles resident Ben Eng dropped to third, with 267 points, when LSU won. He had picked Duke, which lost to the Tigers on Thursday. Eng still has a chance to win the pool, however.

Complete standings here and after the jump.

LSU’s win eliminated five contestants who had been depending on a Texas victory to stay mathematically alive to win the the pool: Edward Jackson, Paul Lucht, Tim Huffman, Peter Timbrell, and 2002 pool champion Tom Greca. Greca’s elimination guarantees that this year’s pool will have a first-time champion.

That leaves nine contestants still alive. In addition to Tran, Long and Eng, the other six are Logan Pugh, David Kreutz, Matt Wiser (a.k.a. “Mike’s brother Matt”), Jay Johnson (a.k.a. “DrawingDead”), Matt Scarborough (a.k.a. “LaundraMatt”) and Kirby Bullard.

Tran, Long, Eng, Pugh, Kreutz and Wiser are “safe” for today. Johnson, Scarborough and Bullard need Memphis to win in order to stay alive. A UCLA win would leave just six contestants with a chance to win the pool heading into the final day of the Elite Eight.

In a rarity, eight of the nine contestants who are still alive are in the Top 9 in the standings — indicating a great deal of diversity of predictions among those who have done well in the pool thus far. The exception is Johnson, currently tied for 21st but still alive because he picked Memphis to win it all. The only contestant in the Top 9 who is mathematically eliminated is Kevin Hauschulz, tied for sixth but unable to pass Long because their remaining picks are too similar. That extends Hauschulz’s record of most Times pools participated in without a victory, a dubious distinction he shares with fellow Newington High School Class of 1999 grad Josh Rubin.

Complete scenario info here.

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Apparently the screaming lady who was rooting for Gonzaga has adopted Memphis as her new team. (If you’ve been watching the Gonzaga games on CBS, you know what I’m talking about.) I guess she’s bitter about the UCLA loss. She was just screaming while a Bruin player shot free throws. Heh.

UPDATE: In other news, these announcers STILL haven’t figured out how to pronounce “Gonzaga”! Argh! They mispronounced “Farmar” as “farmer” earlier, too. Jeez!

LSU leads Texas, 50-47 with 3:41 to go. I have them in the Final Four, the one pick I could potentially still brag about (since having UConn in the Final Four isn’t exactly an accomplishment). Hook the Horns!

UPDATE: WOW, can they put an entire possession in One Shining Moment? There were like 3 blocks and 3 loose ball scrambles in there! And it ended with a three-point swish for Texas, which is now tied with LSU, 52-52 with 32.1 seconds left. But the Tigers have the ball.

UPDATE 2: A poor final possession for LSU; they didn’t get a very good shot. And so, we have another overtime game!

UPDATE 3: LSU wins… and “Big Baby” uses some decidedly non-baby-appropriate language, caught on camera saying “motherf****r” during his celebration. Heh.

In other news, Dick Enberg and Jay Bilas are awesome. They are definitely my favorite announcing team. I did take issue, though, with their complaints about how LSU was taking quick shots in overtime. Umm, isn’t that exactly what every analyst and his brother was saying Gonzaga should have done against UCLA: keep playing their offense, don’t slow it down and get overly cautious? I thought that was a good strategy by LSU.

Either way, congrats to the Tigers! I told you Texas wasn’t going anywhere. :)

“We got tapeworms in our belly. We gotta still eat.” –Big Baby. Heh.

Connecticut’s kindly, calm & avuncular Saint Joe is getting a wee bit Testy over the Primary challenge from rich Greenwich liberal Ned Lamont.

Joe has a Point here: the Quote in Question has long been ripped from its Context & misused to portray him as a Supressionist of Free Speech. / But Still: when Joe Throws an On-air hissyfit at Local Liberal Icon Colin McEnroe, he throws Red meat (i.e., his Arse :) to the ravening blogospherical Blue Beasts and thus Harms himself for August.

It’s a bit of a Dilemma, for a Dyed-in-the-Wool Harry Truman/Jack Kennedy/Scoop Jackson/Tom Dodd Democrat.

We shall See whether St. Joe can Solve it. / Prediction: this upstart Challenge to him is going to Prove Serious. (And, I think he Knows it. )